Snap switch



Aug. Z0, 1935. s. c. wlNGER 2,011,788

SNAP SWITCH Filed Oct. 19, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet I 'IM' Il ih...

:a a u ,25W/enfer ffm/6)' C; M'qg er l 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 s. c. WINGER SNAP swITcH Filed oct. 19, 195i Aug. 20, 1935.

Patented' Aug. 20, 19.35-

SNAP SWITCH Stover C. Winger, Los Angeles, Calif., assignor o! one-tenth to John Flam, Los Angeles, Calif.

Application October 19, 1931, Serial No. 569,696 2 Claims. (Cl. 200-77) should be so arranged that the contacts are rapidciples of my invention; but it is to be understood 5 ly made and broken; that is, a snap" action is that this detailed description is not to be taken desirable. Switches to accomplish this result are in a limiting sense, since the scope of my invennow well-known. Usually they can be installed tion is best defined by the appended claims. on the wall or on a pendant conductor, and in- Referring to the drawings:

corporate one or more coil springs, bearings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of a wall 10 toggles, levers and the like. This Whole assembly, Switch embodying my invention, taken along which must be encompassed in a small space, plane I-I of Fig2; is dilcult and expensive to manufacture. The Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof; parts are numerous and so arranged that some Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view, taken along nlcety must be exercised to get all of them toplane 3-3 0f Fig. 1; 15 gether in operative relation, Fig. 4 is a. plan view with some of the parts re- It furthermore involves considerable work to moved; manufacture all of the numerous parts, for which Fig. 5 iS e perspective View 0f the main Casing complicated dies and molds must-be developed. fOr the devee With such complex devices, the operation is Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 1, 0f a Slightly 20 apt to be faulty and the parts to break or bemedied ferm 0f the invention; come worn or misallned. Usually this involves Fig. '7 is a view similar t0 Fig. 1, 0f a still furdiscarding the device for a new one, as it is not ther modieatiOn; l worthwhile to replace or repair the parts. FS- 8 iS a detail 0f the aetuatel; and It is accordingly one of the objectsof my in- Figs. 9, 10 and 11 are diagrams illustrating the 25 vention to obviate all of these difficulties enmede 0f OperatiOIl 0f the deviee. countered in prior devices, Substantially all of the operating parts of the This object I accomplish by a great simplificadevice are enclosed in a casing I2, which can contlon of the mechanism, It is possible to reduce veniently be made from some insulation material the number of all of the moving parts to two or such as molded phenolic condensation product. 30 three, which are very easy to manufacture and Slidable on the bottom surface of this casing, assemble. The mechanism can be used eflectivethere 1S a Contact Carrying member |3- This ly for a long period; and in the remote event of member es Shown in Fg- 1 can be limited in its the necessity of repen-s or replacement, this can sliding movement by having its ends or feet I4, be accomplished with'faelllty, I5 abutting respectively against the left and right 35 Il; ls another objectl of my invention to provide hand walls of casing I2. These ends can be used a switch that ensures e, quick make and break by to open or close a circuit near each limit of its a direct sliding movement of the contacts. This movement- Y sliding or wiping movement keeps the contact In the present instance, member I3 is shown surfaces clean and smooth, as made of thin resilient material, that is also a 40 I accomplish these results by providing an opgoed Conductor. Such es DhOSPhOI' bronze. It iS erating member or actuator which creates two 0f arched form, rising to an elevation I6. Each variable forces cna contact member; one producend 0r feet 4, l5 een be Split aS Shown ab Il ing friction against sliding, and another produo (Fig. 4). Y It is apparent that by exerting a downing the sliding, The force ls so varied that gradward force at the elellation I6, this elevation is ually the frictional force is reduced, and the slldreduced end the resilienee'of the member I3 1S ing force increased, The snapootlon ooours on such that it olers a yielding force against the the ilrst increment of variation that causes the deWnWardly dlreeted force. sliding force to overcome the gradually dimm.. Although the ends or feet I4, I5 can obviously ished friction.. from which point on, the over- Serve directly aSmOVable Contacte. this LS Het eS- powering of the force of friction is accelerated. Sentiel. aS there may be Supplemental COIltaCUS My invention possesses many other advantages. Carried thereby- Furthermore, either 0r both end A and has'other objects which may be made more lpositions of member I3 can' be used to close a easilyA apparent from a consideration o1' several circuit. For example, in the form shown, al pair 55 now commonly used.

Such circuit controllers, in order to be effective,

embodiments ofv my invention. For this purpose I have shown a few forms in the drawings accom- Panying and forming part of the present specication. I shall now proceed to describe these forms in detail, which illustrate the general prinof contacts I8, I9 can be placed adjacent the left hand end of the bottom of casing I2. These contacts extend, as shown in Fig. 3, from each .side of casing I2 toward the center, and are separated by a central barrier 20 formed conveniently integrally with casing I2.

These contacts are so arranged that their top surfaces are flush with the bottom of the casing I2. This is accomplished by providing slight depressions 2I (Fig. 5)'` in the bottom of casing I2. Thus when member I3 is in its extreme left hand position, the barrier 20 enters into split I1, and

. the two halves of the end I4 engage these contactsrespectively, completing the circuit between them through the body of member I3.

For convenience also, these contacts are supported adjacent the top edge ofthe side Walls of casing I2. For this purpose, each contact is provided with an upright strip 22 also depressed to be flush with the inner sides of casing I2.A For this purpose, the side walls of casing I2 are provided with recesses such as 23 (Fig. 5) for accommodating the strips 22. These strips have their ends bent down as shown at 24 to embrace the side walls of the casing I2 and to provide a place for a binding post 25 that passes through the Wall and holds the Yentire contact member in lplace.

For convenience in making the casing I2 by a molding operation, and for obviating the necessity of coring, slots 26 are formed for the passage of the screws 25 in place of a simple through aperture. Furthermore, the top bend of strip 22 is accommodated in a recess 21 in the side wall of casing I2, ywhich is deep enough to bring this top surface of strip 22 slightly below the top edge of the two side walls. An insulation strip 28 is placed over this top surface which strip extends entirely across the casing and has its top surface flush with the top surface of the casing. The

usual supporting strip 29 is fastened to the top surface of the casing, and carries the usual ears '30 (Fig. 2) for fastening it to a support in a wall conduit box. Threaded holes 3l can also be provided for attaching a panel cover plate.

The movement of the member I3 from left to right and vice versa is accomplished by the aid of a rocking member or actuator 32. This rocking member is provided with a cross pin 33 which is journalled in a groove 34 (Fig. 5) in each side of casing I2. surface of support 29. This support can he bent transversely at about its center so as to enter ilzie V shaped grooves 35 in the sides of chamber tion is flattened and overlies and closes the narrow groove 34-in which pin 33 is accommodated.

The actuator 32 is formed with a handle member 36 and a wide body portion. Lengthwiseof this body portion extends a. bowed resilient member 31 that contacts with the arch I6 of member I3. It is held against removal by having its ends engaging in notches 38 formed at each end of the body portion. In this instance, member 31 has its convex surface opposed to the arch I6. The notches 38 as shown most clearly in Fig. 8, extend only partly across member 32. In this way, sidewise displacement of member 31 is prevented.

Rocking movement of member 32 about pivot 33 causes the member I3 to be snapped over from one end of casing I2 to the other end. How this snap action is accomplished will now beexplained with the aid of the. diagrams, Figs. 9, 10, and 11. First of all, it is to be noted that the pivot pin 33 is located about centrally of the length of cas- It is held in place by the bottom The lower surface or apex of this bent porin Fig. 9, the pin is to the left of the crest of arch I6. When the actuator 32 is at rest in the position of Fig. 9, there is a yielding force exerted in forcing clip 54 at the crest. There is a reactiony from clip 54 to spring 31, tending to rotate member 32 in a counterciockwise direction, but prevented from doing so by the engagement of the stop 4I) against the edge of the slot in strip 29 (Fig. 1).

The size and direction" of the force acting on member I3 can be represented as a vector by arrow 39. This force is comparatively small, as both spring members are not materially compressed, but is suicient nevertheless to keep the Aspring flngers or feet in close contact with the bottom of casing I2. One component 4I of force 39 is directed perpendicular to the bottom sliding surface'of casing I2, and produces a static friction force. The other component 42 is parallel to the sliding surface and tends to move the member I3 to the right against the static force of friction, but is stoppedin this instance by the end I5 of member A53, abutting the end wall of casing I2.

Now as a rotative force in a clockwise direction is applied to actuator 32, as by manipulation of handle 36, the size and direction of force 39 changes. Thus when the force is exactly perpendicular to the bottom surface, as in Fig. l0', all of it is used to produce a large frictional resistance to the movement of member I3. Accordingly, there is no ymotion possible of member I3. Furthermore, since this force must be sustained by spring 31, it as well as member 53 is more strongly compressed. 'I'he edges of spring 31 then extend more deeply into notches 38. The

force now acting is represented by vector 43.

Now as member 32 is rotated still further, the direction of the force changes and takes a slanting direction toward the left. Such a condition is shown in Fig. 11, the force now being represented by vector 44. One component, such as 45, is useful as before to provide a compressive force, creating friction; but the other component 46 is now directed toward the left, tending to move the member 53 toward the left.

At the beginning of this stage of movement, the frictional resistance to movement of member 53 is so great that force 46 cannot overcome it; however, as member 32 turns farther and farther in al clockwise direction, the component 45 becomes less and less, and component 46 becomes greater and greater. As soon as an equilibrium betweenthe resultant friction and force 46 is :lust passed, there is a rapid snap over motion, and

member 53 takes the dotted line positiontthis with the edge of the slot of support 29. In this position, contacts I8, I9 are engaged by foot I4 and the circuit is completed between them.

To open the circuit, the actuator 32 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction, and the forces 'act similarly to that described to return member I3 or 53 to the position of Fig. 9.

The resilient nember 31 can take any "of a number of forms. In Fig. 6, it is shown at 49 as fiat, and due to the action of the forces, a slight concavity isproduced by it. To permit this, the actuator 48 can be made concave on the bottom.

The spring action of members 31, 49 is beneiicial in providing a more smooth and rapid action of the device, but it is not absolutely essential. For example, in Fig. 7, the spring is entirely dispensed with. The actuator 50 merely has a smooth lower surface coacting with the yielding spring contact 5|. This contact, in this instance, is provided with a wear shoe or plate 52 at its crest.

In all three forms it is apparent that the actuator also provides a sliding surface, the direction of which varies with relation to the bottom surface of casing I2. The member I3 or 53 slides between these two surfaces.

I claim: I

1. In a circuit controller, means providing a sliding surface, a compressible sliding member on the surface, contacts controlled by said member, and an actuator for said member, comprising a member pivoted above said surface and on an axis transverse thereto, and a resilient contacting member carried by the pivoted member and engaging the sliding member.

2. In a circuit controller, means providing a sliding surface with limits at its ends, a compressible resilient contact controlling member slidable between the limits of the sliding surface, an actuator member, having a continuous resiliently yielding surface that contacts with the controlling member, and a stationary pivotal support for the actuator member at a point above the sliding surface and intermediate the limits.

STOVER C. WINGER. 

